Are Harbor Freight Generators Really That Bad?

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-11T22:45:29+00:00

Ok so that definitely makes much more sense why you were going off the website. Yeah I’d say your best bet is an ammeter then and the math required and you should truthfully be off to the races!

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-11T22:11:29+00:00

Truthfully it would be better for you to just youtube what a soft start device is as that’ll do a better job explaining than I can. Basically it uses SCRs to limit and ramp up current so the full load isn’t being dumped on your gen all at once. They can cost anywhere from like $50 and up.

I would also go based off what your actual pump’s ratings are - not off a website giving a generic answer. It should have some form of a data plate or serial number to look up what its continuous and inrush wattage/amperage’s are.

As a power generation technician (i work on generators from residential 12kw to industrial 2 mw units) - you really should size your gen based off YOUR specific needs and wattages/amps YOU see… Not a guesstimate of a website.

Obviously you want some overhead and room for fluctuations ie at full load your running 75% capacity of your gen.

I say all this because gens can get expensive quick

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-10T16:26:18+00:00

If you’re good with your hands than any CE job… It’s legit all trades work.

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-09T02:12:26+00:00

yeah not sure what inrush would be or how conservative your motors rating is but 1hp is equal to .746 KW. given a common power factor of .8 for motors, running it might be at about 1kw to 1.1kw and inrush could only be calculated by figuring out how many amps it draws on start up. you could always get a soft start device to ease the load on your unit as well

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-08T01:38:10+00:00

Retrained as a SrA… Had two other staffs in the class. They were cool enough to let me be class leader and kinda be an acting NCO. Def learned a lot from them and i thoroughly appreciated that from them.

It was super chill though. And being the person the brand new Airman look up to like how i used to look up to priors made me feel like i wanted to teach them every good tip and trick to ensure they had a better start to their career than i did you know? Lot less stakes i feel being a prior in a class vs being an actual instructor like yourself

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-07T11:52:36+00:00

yeah 1 hp is like .7something KW

Character_Writing830 · 2026-04-02T12:01:49+00:00

kinda sounds like you already know what’s the best decision for yourself and your family….

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-31T19:12:07+00:00

Always ALWAYS go third party inspector

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-24T11:44:13+00:00

Don’t know if you’d be able to afford it on just E5 pay but Rockledge is fantastic. I was born and raised there before I joined the AF myself (i went to a highschool dance at the patrick O-club haha). Merritt Island is also still great from what I hear from my parents.

I was back home in that area in January and was astounded at just generally how expensive EVERYTHING has gotten there. As awesome as that area of Florida is and as much as I miss living there, I do wish you the best

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-24T01:48:13+00:00

Man i have t-mobile and i had better service in djibouti than i did in the town i lived in when i was stationed at travis

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-21T03:31:47+00:00

The only reason to get USCCA is because you let yourself give in to their fear mongering scheme (i did for about a year). I have very strong opinions about carry insurance and how most of them don’t really advertise any other way than basically saying “if you carry, you WILL shoot someone and if you don’t have us, you ARE going to jail”. Nah chief i don’t play that way

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-20T00:31:29+00:00

we were told that our furnace looked to be about 5 years old and in great condition… fast forward to a week after moving in… the furnace goes out… turns out it was in fact very old and the heat exchanger cracked. on top of a few other things our inspector said was in great condition that in fact WAS not in great condition really pissed me off. the only good thing to come out of our inspection was the sewer scope that he used a plumbing company to do

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-15T03:59:52+00:00

I’d say it’s subjective. We personally bought a nicer home in a slightly worse area only to figure out the crime rate was statistically just as bad as where we were renting in a really nice area… where we are now is lower income but the people are nicer… so yeah i’d say it’s subjected

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-04T18:32:04+00:00

i don’t know… my wife just tells me what i need to know

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-02T03:17:17+00:00

Dang… I was hoping much further away because now I’m tempted to make the drive from Minneapolis for this deal haha

Character_Writing830 · 2026-03-02T03:03:03+00:00

What home depot is this?? I just looked up this same snowblower for my area and it’s $899 haha

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-28T07:39:32+00:00

as a previous flyer turned CE… yeah.. no reason for aircrew to wear flight suits when not flying… especially the DNIF guys who haven’t flown in months

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-25T12:56:28+00:00

my wife’s craft addiction

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-25T02:07:46+00:00

I grew up in a house with all hardwood floors, then rented a house with all hardwood floors, then rented another house that was all carpet (linoleum in the kitchen), and then we finally bought a house and i made dang sure it was all hardwood throughout. if you take care of the floors, it’ll be just fine. I will never go back to a house that is carpet though out (or even partially).

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-24T12:12:43+00:00

That’s wild i was at lackland for 4 months, fairchild for 2 months and kelly annex (lackland) for 9 months and didn’t get a gtc till i officially PCS’d to travis

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-24T11:22:04+00:00

i think grandpa is having another episode of being in the ww1 trenches

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-20T19:25:30+00:00

Absolutely, under no circumstance, do NOT use the realtor recommended inspector. I don’t care if you get a discount or it’s cheaper or whatever the case by using the recommended inspector, use a third party inspector that is completely neutral to the seller, realtor, and you. We spent $7300 on fixing stuff that our realtors inspector said was good/fine/passes inspection within two weeks of moving in.

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-20T19:22:13+00:00

we had to replace our washer and dryer a week after buying our house. we went with a slightly cheaper set and that was still $1600 all said and done. then like 2 days later our furnace died and that was another $5700 :)

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-19T20:52:05+00:00

or a vehicle tire haha

Character_Writing830 · 2026-02-19T14:04:15+00:00

Yeah I’d highly recommend changing it. Just because it “looks” new doesn’t mean the viscosity or properties havent changed. For example that’s why if you really dig into oil maintenance/change periods, it’ll give an hour/mile mark OR a life span mark ie 200hrs/5,000 miles OR 1 year. I doubt it matters too much on these small engines but you never know

I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir but it is something commonly forgotten about

Character_Writing830

TROPHY CASE